David Beckham turns 34 next month, but he has reinvented himself to keep pace with younger talent snapping at his heels
David Beckham turns 34 next month, but he has reinvented himself to keep pace with younger talent snapping at his heels
It's obvious you joined Milan partly because you missed playing at a high level and partly to give you the best possible chance of being picked for England. But wouldn't it have been easier to stay in Europe in the first place and forget about going to the United States? After all, Milan tried to buy you then?
That's true but the offer from Milan came in too late at the end.
With hindsight would you have made a different decision?
Look, I'd finished my career with Real on a high. I wasn't in the England team. I've always said, because people have asked whether I regret it, that it was right at the time. I've enjoyed two years there, the success off the field. It's not been great on the field because we haven't been successful at all. But I still believe in the game growing there. But it won't take just one or two years. It'll take 10 or 15 years.
What made you decide to go to the United States in the first place? Did you think you were no longer able to play at the top level?
I didn't feel my legs were gone or that I didn't still have it. But confidence-wise, maybe, I was low. I've always been quite a confident person and I've taken it on to a field.
Even when I went back to Milan, I didn't know whether I was going to play a game or whether I'd be able to keep up with the pace of some of the players in the team, but I surprised myself. In that first start against Roma, and then continuing in other games after that. The confidence was back and I started to think I can still play this game at this level.
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Why was your confidence so damaged when you were at Real Madrid and thinking about leaving for America?
I'd gone through a couple of down points in my career. Obviously being taken out of the England squad was a big one. That knocked my confidence a lot. That's how things affect you. That affected me.
How long can you continue playing? Obviously the dream is to succeed with Milan this season and then guide England to World Cup glory in South Africa in 2010. Would that be a good time to stop, at the age of 35?
No, I'm not thinking that way. I've always said that, even if I'm not picked in the squad, I always want to be available for my country while I'm still playing. That's the way I see it. I'd love to go to the World Cup, and be involved in every squad that gets picked up to that time. Things can change very quickly. I know that. I'd love to be involved in that. I don't think I'd ever retire from international football. But things can change.
I'm passionate about playing for my country. Even if I'm not picked in games or qualifiers, maybe one day I will get picked so I'll hang in there.
But you can't be playing for England or Milan at 50 can you?
You never know. I'll know when it's the right time to retire. I'm an honest person. I've always been like that, but then again I've gone into games not feeling great but that I want to play. I wouldn't want people wondering why I'm still playing, but I'd like that option to be involved in a squad one day. If that happens when I'm 45 then I'd be happy.
Given that you still have a few years left at the top level, then, are you at all tempted to finish your career in England instead of Italy?
I don't know. I'm 34 in May. I'm still playing at the highest level with Milan and going back to LA as well. So, obviously, things can change. A lot of things can change.
Your confidence has obviously been boosted by moving to Milan, so where would you say you are in your career now? Are you playing as well as you have ever done?
I'm happy. Form-wise being at Milan has taken me to another level. Fitness wise, it's definitely taken me to another level. I'm playing pretty well at the moment. Fitness-wise, I'm definitely the best I've been for a long time. I'm still not going to have the pace I've never had. But I'm experienced, I'm playing well. I've always said that when my fitness is at a high level, I can perform.
Can you go into more detail about how Milan have helped you get back to your best form? What did they do?
It's literally down to training. My eating and diet hasn't changed. It's literally down to the work we've been doing. From the moment I arrived in Dubai with Milan, we've worked more than I've ever done, apart from my last year in Madrid.
The training regime, the respect that the players have for each other at Milan is unbelievable. The amount they work for each other, in games and in training, sets the tone. It's amazing. They don't just sit and just enjoy being at a club like that. They work unbelievably hard.
So would you say you are a lot fitter since you moved to Italy?
Definitely. When I first arrived in Dubai with Milan for a friendly game my body fat was 13.7, now it is 8.5. That shows you how they have helped me. Getting used to Serie A was more about the fitness more than anything else but I also had to adjust my game. I felt I was successful doing that in Spain and now in Milan I'm enjoying that part of it as well.
Have you learned anything football-wise at Milan anything about discipline on the pitch, for instance?
The discipline side is more about the discipline of the team more than anything individual. The discipline of defending, that's one of big things I've learnt since being in Milan. You have to have that discipline of the team on the pitch. That's the biggest thing.
Given the impact some of the world's greatest managers and coaches have had on you, can you see yourself going into coaching when you eventually hang up your boots?
No, no. I can't see myself coaching or being a manager. That's not interested me and never has. Coaching kids is good, but who knows? I'm not going to say it'll never happen. But at this point in my career and my life, it doesn't interest me.
You obviously want to play for England in the World Cup but there seem to be a lot of young players coming through in your home country who play in the same position as you not least Arsenal winger Theo Walcott who scored a hat-trick against Croatia in a qualifier this year. Do you think they are going to be serious rivals?
Of course, and I'm happy about that. That's been one of the exceptional things about Fabio Capello coming in as manager with England. Without a doubt, Theo, Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips have been exceptional for their clubs. I don't feel as if I'm getting in the way by staying in the squad. I can help with experience.
What do you think you can still offer AC Milan and England on the field?
I don't know; that's a question for the manager and other people. I don't like to speak about what I bring to a team. That's other people's opinion. I'd hope it's more than just experience, though. I have that, of course, but I'd hope that if I play I can set up goals from crosses, free-kicks, corners and score goals too. I've still got that work-rate there, I've shown that with Milan and have played with every game so far for them. I hope I can continue.
You overtook Bobby Moore's appearance record by playing against England against Slovakia at Wembley with all your family in the stand. There were pictures of your mum crying and celebrating and also pictures of your wife Victoria and children there to cheer you on. Did that make it extra special?
It did, to win the 109th cap with all my family there was extra special. I won my 100th cap in France and the 108th in Spain where I had enjoyed playing so much with Real Madrid. But to break the record in your home country with your family there was a great thing for me.
When you grow up, you dream about playing for your country and at Wembley. To play 109 times for England is obviously very special for me and for my family.
I won't give this cap away, I'll keep this one for myself. It will be in my house in London, locked up.
I dedicate it to my family because they are the ones who have been through the ups and downs of my career and been there for the good times and also the bad times.
The next target is the overall record held by goalkeeper Peter Shilton on 125. Can you catch him?
Everyone has their opinion but I am not looking at that record at the moment. I take each game as it comes because I know how quickly it can change. Being at AC Milan gives me more of a chance to be at that high level required to play international football. But we will see, I am enjoying being with the squad at the moment and I just want to take it a game at a time.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world and under some of the greatest managers football has ever seen.
But in Italy he has found a training regime more intense and more effective than anywhere else he has played.
You may think the most photographed man in the world looked pretty perfect the way he was. But he has revealed that training to play in Italy's Serie A has seen him reduce his body-fat ratio from 13.7 per cent to an incredible 8.5.
That improved fitness has helped him win back his place in the England team and overtake the legendary Bobby Moore's record of 108 caps for his country.
Now he is aiming for success with Milan and a World Cup triumph with England after deciding this is not the time to even think about retirement.
In fact, he is so committed to playing at the top level that he helped fund a complicated loan move which has allowed him to stay at AC Milan for the rest of the season even though he is still registered as a player with American side LA Galaxy.
He will return to the United States later this year but expects to stay only a few months before coming back to Europe in 2010.
Here we talk to the midfield star to find out how life in Italy has changed him and why he has put any thoughts of retirement to one side for now...
Be Healthy like Bekcham
>>Eat high energy foods to provide maximum energy and improved mental function, keep the body healthy to ensure recovery and tissue repair quickly, have enough energy for long hours of training, practice games and matches
>>Follow a consistent and sensible program of eating food that increases metabolic rate (colourful veggies, high fiber fruits, sea food, eggs, nuts and seeds and whole grain cereal and pulses)
>>Engage in compound weight training and functional exercise
>>High intensity cardio including running, jogging and plyometric exercises like jump-squats, push-ups and jumping jacks
>>Core exercises and non-supported movements on the swiss ball or wobble boards to improve balance and stability
>>Remain active through the day
>>Early to bed and early to rise most days of the week
"Anything less than 5% fat for an athlete is detrimental to health. A minimum fat percentage as a goal is a rewarding and long lasting health goal only if done in a sensible manner that always focuses on improving ability, mood and health."
Madhuri Ruia is a nutrition and functional health expert. She is also the founder of Half, a functional health studio at Colaba
How has your game changed later in life? In the past you were famous for losing your temper sometimes on the pitch, getting sent off against Argentina back in 1998 for a petulant kick for instance. Have you matured since those days?
I hope so but it never totally leaves you. It does improve with experience and with playing in big games with big teams. But I probably still haven't been able to control it fully.
When things go badly, the team's losing and it's not going well, that frustration comes out. It's not right. It's bad. I was frustrated in the Spain game for England recently and got a yellow card for talking back to the ref. You try to control it, but sometimes you can't.
Wayne Rooney seems to be a very similar character with England. Have you helped him at all?
I do what I can. Obviously, if Wayne wanted to talk to me about that, he would. We're good enough friends and team-mates. But he has Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United as a man who he'll be talking to, and who he will respect. And with England he has Fabio Capello, who is one of the most successful managers in football.
I don't worry about him to be honest. With Wayne, you don't get the exceptional talent and player you have without that side of his game. If you take that side out of his game, he becomes a different player, a different animal. You don't want to take that out of him. Sometimes it flows over. As I've said, I've done it a few times with myself. It happens. He knows it's not right, I know it's not right, but it happens. You don't want to take that out of him.
Given your own experience can you spot when players are about to lose their temper and help them?
Yeah, as an experienced player you tend to notice those things more when you are a bit older. You see players' reactions and see what can happen next. I've seen it with some of the best players in the world. Look at Zinedine Zidane you can see it in his eyes sometimes in games. You know what's going to happen.
But in the end, it's all about the passion, which is the biggest thing. You don't want to take that out of a player. You can try to get to him in time as a team-mate, but some things are uncontrollable. You can have some of the most experienced players in the game telling you to calm down, but sometimes you can't be controlled.
Would you say learning to control yourself is one of the main ways you have changed over the years other than all the different haircuts?
That has been the biggest change possibly. I've had a few haircuts and a few have been criticised should an England captain have a Mohican? I've changed in maturity, the immature side still comes out now and then but that is part and parcel of being a footballer, you are passionate about winning. But not much has changed within me as a person and a footballer.
INFOSTRADA HAYTERS/ PLANET SYNDICATION
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